What's in a swear? The world's filthiest words typically refer to something vulgar or taboo, for one. But there's something else swears across the world's languages have in common. They're all missing ...

Dagnabit, I just love cursing. It relieves stress and feels good. Polite society has considered the use of vulgar language to be associated with low intellect, but studies are showing the opposite.

Linguists have noticed that many swear words share the same sharp, punchy sounds—hard consonants like “k,” “t,” and “g” that burst out of the mouth rather than flow. When a study examined those sound ...